Potato-harvester.



4 Patented July 9, 191.2.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PMNOURAPH CO WASHXNQTO D. C.

A. BAAS.

POTATO HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24, 1911.

1,032,175, Patented July 9, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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POTATO HARVBSTER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24, 1911. 1,032,175, Patented July 9, 1912.

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' CQLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH coqwahmm'cv D in snare POTATO-HABVESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jnly9, 1912.

Application filed. November 24, 1911. Serial No. 662,138.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBnR'rUs BAAS, a subject of the Queen of theNetherlands, and residing at Nildervank, in the Province of Holland, inthe Kingdom of the Netherlands, having invented certain new and use fulImprovements in Potato-Harvesters, do hereby declare that the followingis a speci fication.

This invention has for its object to provide an improved potatoharvester of the class in which the devices for digging, sifting,cleaning and discharging the potatoes; are worked by a motor mounted onthe harvester, the entire harvester being drawnf; along by animal power.i

In the improved harvester the several devices hereinafter mentioned arecarried by a framework which is connected to its supporting truck in anindependent manner so{ that it can be caused to rest with its whole;weight upon the digging tool for digginml or it can be brought intodependence on the, truck so as to allow the digging tool to be! raisedoff the ground for transport of the; harvester. I

The improved harvester further comprises new means for raising andlowering the digging tool and cooperating parts to suit the nature ofthe soil and plants, and also improved means for sifting and cleaning?the potatoes and conveying the loose soil and halm out of the harvester.

One construction of a harvester accord-g ing to this invention isillustrated in the; accompanying drawings in which E Figure 1 is alongitudinal section of the harvester, Fig. 2 is a plan of the steering;mechanism, Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are views of details of the harvester,and Fig. 7 is a front f elevation of the steering mechanism.

As shown A indicates the device for digj ging up the potatoes andconveying them to the device B which has the function of removing thehalm, roots, &c. From the de-, vice B the potatoes are caused by theirshape and weight to pass on to a device C whereby the potatoes arefilled into baskets,

sacks or other receptacles placed in position for this puprose.

D indicates a truck composed preferably of two triangular side framesconnected together by cross stays, so as to form a rigid structure. Thistruck is mounted on road Wheels and carries a framework which supportsthe various devices. These devices are constituted as follows :1 is thedigging tool or share in the rear of which is a grating 2 composed of anumber of bars capable of adjustment to any desired spacing (Fig. 6).These bars have eyes for the passage of rods 3 to fasten the barstogether. By tight-- ening the set screws 3 in the supports 3 thegrating 2 can be adjusted transversely to the frames of the-truck D soas to set it at different distances from the conveyer. The side plates lform with the grate 2 a channel for the guidance of the dug out mass ofsoil and potatoes. 5, 5", 5, 5 are chain wheels over which run chains 6,6, Whose links are connected to one another by cross pieces 7 on which aseries of carriers 8 is arranged in rows staggered behind I one anotherFig. 3 in such a manner that the carriers sweep over the entire width ofthe grating 2. This arrangement has for its object to reduce thequantity of soil which has to be carried along Without preventing thepotatoes from remaining behind. In the drawings the carriers 8 are shownas 5 consisting of flat strips set vertically on cross pieces 7, butthey may also be arranged at an angle, and they may also be 1 composedof spoon-shaped bars or elastic bars, according to the nature of thesoil and the plants. 9, 9 are chain wheels and 10, 10 are guide wheels,over which run two additional chains 11, 11, whose links are 1 connectedtogether by cross pieces 12 that serve to clear the carriers 8 fromhalm, &c. This clearing is effected over the portion cZ2 of the courseof the chain. The toothed wheels 5, 5 have the same diameter as thewheels 9, 9, but the loose guide wheels 10, 10 have a greater diameter.Consequently both sets of chains 6, 6 and 11, 11 run at equal speeds sothat the carriers 8 and the cross pieces 12 have relative motion to oneanother only over the portion a;b, while they are entirely free andinclependent of one another over the remaining part of their course. Thetoothed wheels 5, 5 and 9, 9 are mounted on a common shaft 1 1, and theguide wheels 10, 10 of the chains 11, 11 are mounted on loose pulleys16, 16", 16" in the tensioning slide 17 The shaft 15 extends through theslot 18. The set-s of chains 6, 6 and 11, 11 are arranged on the toothedwheels 5, 5 and 9, 9 in such a manner that the two sets of chains willalways run free and the clearing of the carriers 8 will always takeplace at ab.

The conveyer B for the halm, lumps of soil, &c., consists of cross barsfixed side by side on an endless band 20 running over two pulleys ordrums 19, 19 and over one or more guide wheels 21. The cross bars ofthis band conveyer are furnished with knobs or spikes whereby the halmand roots which in the case of ripe potatoes are readily detached by themere rolling of the potatoes, are separated out and thrown over theguard 22 on to the ground. Similarly any soil which has not beenseparated out during its passage over the grating 2, is thrown also overthe guard 22.. Side walls 23 forming a channel with the conveyer band B,are arranged at the two sides of the said band.

The conveyer O for the potatoes is arranged horizontally across thedigging apparatus A and the halm conveyer B; it consists similarly of anumber of cross bars arranged on an endless conveyer band 23 whichpasses over two drums. The channel whose bottom is formed by the band 23is completed by the two side walls 2%, 2 1. A cord pulley 26 is mountedloose and capable of sidewise movement on the projecting end of theshaft 25, to which latter is fixed a double ended lever 27. By operatingthe belt shifter 28, the pulley 26 may be shifted on its shaft so as tocause the pin 29 to strike the double ended lever 27 and thus set thepotato conveyer C in action. If the cord is crossed, the motion of theshaft 25 is reversed whereby the potato conveyer is also reversed. Thepotatoes can therefore be led either to the left or right as desired andbe dropped into baskets, receptacles or the like placed for this purposeon a pro jecting board 30.

All the aforesaid devices are driven by,

the motor 31. The driving power is transmitted by the toothed wheel 32to the wheel 33 for driving the digging device and the device forclearing the carriers 8. The power is transmitted thence by the wheels34, 34; to the halm conveyer and by the pulleys 26, 26 to the potatoconveyer. The motor comprises further a cooling water tank 35, a fueltank (not shown) a water cooler with a fan 36, and an igniting apparatus37.

-The front part of the machine is suspended by means of a wire rope (orchain) 39 and Windlass 40 from the framing rods 38, 38, 38 (Figs. 2 and7). The Windlass is mounted on the cross beam 42. The ends of this crossbeam are perforated so as to embrace the rods 38, 38, 38 along which itis adapted to slide up and down. By operating the windlass the frontpart of the machine can be raised and lowered respectively for enablingthe machine to run idle and for setting it to dig potatoes. The Windlasscan be locked by means of a pawl L1 engaging a ratchet wheel 41'.

The wheels 43, 4L3 are mounted on pins that carry on their inner endsboxes or bushes in which the rods 38, 38 are fixed. Perforated supports4-5, 45 embrace the rods 38, 38 at their lower ends. These rods 38, 38"are capable of rotation and are connected to the steering apparatus bymeans of clips 46, 46' which grip the cranks of the rods 38', 38.

47, 17 are hooks engaging the rods 38, 38 in such a manner that when thesteering apparatus connected to the drawbar 48 is rotated, this rotationis communicated by the rods 19, 50 to the clips 46, 16 and the hooks 47,47 and therefore also to the rods 38, 38 and front wheels 43, 43.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. In a potato harvester, the combination ofa digging tool, a grating, an endless potato chain with projecting pinsfor causing the potatoes to pass over said grating, and an endlessclearing chain with cross pieces located behind said grating forclearing the halm from the projecting pins of said potato conveyer, asset forth.

2. In a potato harvester, the combination of a digging tool, a grating,an endless potato chain conveyer with projecting pins traveling oversaid grating, an endless clearing chain with cross pieces located behindsaid grating, and means for causing said cross pieces to move from baseto point of the projecting pins of said potato chain conveyer wherebysaid projecting pins are cleared of the halm, roots and lumps of soil,as set forth.

3. In a potato harvester, the combination of a digging tool, a grating,an endless potato chain conveyer with projecting pins being respectivelyof the same and of ing action toward the points of said potato greaterdiameter than the corresponding conveyer pins, as set forth. 10 wheelsof said potato conveyer, whereby the In testimony whereof I aflix mysignature cross pieces of said clearing chain are caused in presence oftwo witnesses.

to travel at the same speed and in the same ALBERTUS BAAS. direction asthe potato conveyer pins at Witnesses: their bases, but in anotherdirection behind A. E. YURNIMAN,

said grating, so that they move with a clear- A. G. NELSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

